PHOTOS: Magh Mela Festival India

Magh Mela Festival India

A Hindu holy man takes a dip at Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers, on the auspicious day of Basant Pachami during the month-long Magh Mela in Allahabad, India, Jan. 20, 2010. Hundreds of thousands of devout Hindus take a bath at the confluence during the astronomically auspicious period of the more than 30 days celebrated as Magh Mela to rid themselves of their sins and attain prosperity.

Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP Photo

Magh Mela Festival India

A Hindu holy man takes a dip at Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers, on the auspicious day of Basant Pachami during the month-long Magh Mela in Allahabad, India, Jan. 20, 2010. Hundreds of thousands of devout Hindus take a bath at the confluence during the astronomically auspicious period of the more than 30 days celebrated as Magh Mela to rid themselves of their sins and attain prosperity.

Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP Photo

Magh Mela Festival India

Devotees take holy dips in the river Ganges on the auspicious occasion of Mauni Amavasya during Maha Kumbh at the religious city of Haridwar Jan. 15, 2010. Hundreds of thousands of people have gathered at the religious city to participate in the ongoing Maha Kumbh holy festival.

Shekhar Yadav/India Today Group/Getty Images

Magh Mela Festival India

Sadhus, or Hindu holy men, take ritualistic dips at the Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati, during the Makar Sankranti festival, a day-long celebration during the annual traditional fair of Magh Mela in Allahabad, India, Jan. 14, 2010. Hundreds of thousands of devout Hindus take a bath at the confluence during the astronomically auspicious period of the more than 30 days celebrated as Magh Mela to rid themselves of their sins and attain prosperity.

Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP Photo

Magh Mela Festival India

Devotees take the holy dip in the Ganges on the auspicious occasion of Mauni Amavasya during the ongoing Maha Kumbh in Haridwar Jan. 15, 2010. Hundreds of thousands of people have gathered at the religious city to participate in the holy festival.

Shekhar Yadav/India Today Group/Getty Images

Magh Mela Festival India

Sadhus, or Hindu holy men, perform religious rituals on the banks of the Rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, at the Basant Panchmi festival that falls during the annual traditional fair of Magh Mela in Allahabad, India, Jan. 20, 2010. Hundreds of thousands of devout Hindus take a bath at the confluence during the astronomically auspicious period of the more than 30 days celebrated as Magh Mela to rid themselves of their sins and attain prosperity.

Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP Photo

Magh Mela Festival India

Sadhus, or Hindu holy men, perform yoga after taking holy dips at the Sangam, or the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers, at the Basant Panchmi festival, which falls during the annual traditional fair of Magh Mela in Allahabad, India, Jan. 20, 2010. Hundreds of thousands of devout Hindus take a bath at the confluence during the astronomically auspicious period of the more than 30 days celebrated as Magh Mela to rid themselves of their sins and attain prosperity.

Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP Photo

Magh Mela Festival India

Hindu devotees offer prayers on the banks of the Rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, during the Basant Panchmi festival that falls during the annual traditional fair of Magh Mela in Allahabad, India, Jan. 20, 2010. Hundreds of thousands of devout Hindus take a bath at the confluence during the astronomically auspicious period of the more than 30 days celebrated as Magh Mela to rid themselves of their sins and attain prosperity.

Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP Photo

Magh Mela Festival India

An Indian Hindu devotee performs rituals on the occasion of Mauni Amabasya and the solar eclipse during the Maghmela festival at Sangam, which is the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and Saraswati rivers, in Allahabad Jan. 15, 2010. Sangam is one of Hinduism's most important centers where thousands of people take holy dips during the month-long fair.

DIPTENDU DUTTA/AFP/Getty Images

Magh Mela Festival India

Indian Army soldiers patrol the Sangam, the confluence of rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, during the annual traditional fair of Magh Mela in Allahabad, India, Jan. 20, 2010. A syndicate of terror groups is working to sow violence and destruction across South Asia, and India and Pakistan need to work together to combat the mutual threat, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday. He linked Taliban militants operating along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border with Lashkar-e-Taiba extremists accused of orchestrating the 2008 terror attack on the Indian city of Mumbai, saying both groups worked under the umbrella of al-Qaida.